Hong Kong have won the Toss and elected to bowl first to the mighty Indian side. This is the first match for the Nizakhat Khan-led side in Asia Cup 2022 while India are coming after beating Pakistan in their opening match. Rohit Sharma has announced one major change in playing XI as Hardik Pandya, the last game’s hero, is missing out. Fans are surprised why Hardik Pandya is not playing today’s match vs Hong Kong. Below is the answer.

Rohit Sharma on losing the Toss said that India were also going to bowl due to the bouncy nature of the pitch. “We just want to continue to do what we are doing as a team. We don’t want to look at the opposition and play good and hard cricket.” – said Indian skipper.

Why is Hardik Pandya not playing today vs Hong Kong?

Meanwhile, Rohit surprised everyone by announcing that Rishabh Pant has replaced Hardik Pandya in the playing XI. It would really worry any Indian fan as it was Hardik Pandya’s performance that won the Men in Blue game against Pakistan. The all-rounder had picked 3 wickets and had played a game-changing knock on 33 runs.

However, there is nothing to worry about as Hardik Pandya is not injured but only has been given a rest for the Super 4 stage. “Hardik is rested considering how important he is for us, Pant comes in.” said Rohit Sharma after the Toss.

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Maybe another reason is to give chance to Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik in the same match and then play in the upcoming matches with the one who performs better vs Hong Kong. However, Rishabh Pant is keeping the wickets in this match and which tells that management is preferring him over Karthik as far as keeping is concerned. So only a better batting performance can make Karthik the first-choice keeper.